1) Ask permission. In some situations, it’s understood that you’re there to gather information. In other situations, it’s appropriate to show respect by asking permission to ask questions. Example question: “May I ask you some questions about your business?” This may be a rhetorical question, but it’s worth asking anyway. 2) Start broad, and then get… Read More
About Dr Tony Alessandra
A winning image starts with a good self-image
A good self-image doesn’t follow success—it precedes it, as Robert L. Shook says in his book Winning Images. Someone saddled with a poor self-image may fool some people some of the time, but eventually he’ll fail, unless he comes to grips with his basic self-image. Many of us carry around an image that doesn’t really… Read More
ADAPTABILITY-Can You Connect With Others?
How well you speak the other person’s language? How well you get on that person’s wavelength? There are some people, as professional as they are, as knowledgeable as they are, as helpful as they are, that simply just rub you the wrong way. They’re just not your kind of people. I remember when I moved… Read More
Becoming More Persuasive
Why are so many new ideas, even technically advanced or economically sound ones, such a tough sell? Isn’t it true, as the old saying goes, that if you invent a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door? No, that’s baloney! In fact, it’s never been less true. For one thing, people… Read More
Burnout
How you can try so hard to succeed and yet fail I once knew a salesperson who was so successful that he failed. His sales and commissions were high and yet he failed. He was in his office at 6:00 a.m. each weekday and left at nearly 9:00 p.m. each evening. Weekends were used to… Read More
Collaborative Negotiating Strategies
I believe there are two ways to negotiate: manipulatively and collaboratively. You could call it “win‑win” versus “win‑lose.” Manipulative negotiating sees the participants as adversaries. Tactics include exerting power, using subterfuge and hiding your own nonverbal communications. There is a lot of mistrust, tension, and suspicion. The manipulative negotiator’s goal is to win. There are… Read More
Collaborative Selling
Dr. Tony Alessandra describes the sales concept of Collaborative Selling. This video will help you understand the business of selling. It is not about what you want from the transaction that increases sales but rather what your customer wants. https://s3.amazonaws.com/TopSales/sales-library/2014/october-13/collaborative+selling_mq.mp4
Competition with Others
You might be tempted to say: “What’s wrong with a little competition?” Nothing’s wrong with it. It’s healthy. It’s when your need to compete, and be superior to someone else, gets in the way of the best possible outcome for both of you – that’s when competition becomes a liability. I’m talking about the kind… Read More
Customer Service – The DISC Styles Way!
Everywhere you turn today, you hear about the importance of customer satisfaction. From the bank to the phone company to the video store, every business seems to proclaim “The Customer Is King,” that “People Are Our Business,” that “Your Satisfaction Is Our No.1 Goal.” So, you might think that service is getting better with each… Read More
Dealing with Acceptance and Rejection
Throughout the sales process, you should always be listening to the questions prospects and customers ask you. They are clues to what they are thinking. The questions salespeople love to hear are the ones that signal an intent to buy including: What credit terms do you offer? Can I try it one more time? How… Read More
DISC versus MBTI
I am often asked about the difference between DISC versus MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®) and if there’s an advantage in using one over the other. Both DISC and MBTI are assessment tools that provide insight into personality and behavior. Both are widely respected and used by individuals, organizations, institutions, and corporations worldwide. There are, however, a… Read More
Effective Presentation Skills
The number one fear of most adults (even above death) is speaking in public. Yet the ability to communicate to groups of people is a skill which can make a critical difference in our careers and in our ability to share information, ideas, experience, and enthusiasms with others. A study conducted by AT&T and Stanford… Read More
Features versus Benefits
New salespeople are often confused by the difference between features and benefits and the role each plays in a presentation. A feature is an aspect of the product or service that exists regardless of the customer’s need for it. A benefit is the use or advantage a customer derives from a feature. For example, a… Read More
Follow-Up versus Follow-Through
What is your “follow-up reputation” in your business? Is it ‘always and promptly’? Or, is it ‘usually fairly timely’? Or, could it be ‘doubtful it will get done’? The highest performers keep their promises and exceed the expectations of their prospects and clients. Be a bear about this one. It isn’t a task to be… Read More
Following Up After Your Prospect Says “NO”
If your prospect declines or delays the decision to do business with you, in other words, no sale, you have obligations to that person, which requires following up. First, the prospect deserves to be sincerely thanked for giving you an opportunity to exchange information. A hand-written note is always appreciated and sets you apart from… Read More
Foolproof Sales Training
As a sales coach, you are ultimately responsible for the performance of the sales team. Part of your mission is to improve their sales performance year after year. To achieve that goal, you carefully analyze and manage territories, hire and fire, set minimum standards, set goals, create incentive programs and provide on‑going sales training and… Read More
How Adaptable are YOU?
What IS Adaptability? The concept of adaptability, as developed by Dr. Michael O’Connor, co-author of The Platinum Rule®, is a two-part process. It combines flexibility with versatility. Flexibility is your willingness to adapt. It is your attitude. Versatility is your ability to adapt. It is your aptitude. The first half of the high adaptability formula… Read More
How to Ask the Right Questions
Information gathering ‑ asking the right questions at the right time ‑ is essential to success in sales. Through skillful questioning, you initiate and maintain conversation that leads to sales and builds your image as a professional. No matter whether your prospects are reticent or talkative, your questioning skills will help you to uncover and… Read More
How to Bring Out the Best in Your Management Style
If you’re a manager, you should be very aware of your management style and how it can affect others. Being conscious of the extremes of your behavioral type will allow you to work more effectively with your direct reports, and transform from just a boss into a true leader. But before you do that, you’ll… Read More
How to Bring Out the Best of Your Sales Management Style
If you are a manager of salespeople, you should be very aware of your leadership style to allow you to work more effectively with your sales reps and transform from being just a boss into a true leader. However, before you do that, you will need to identify your sales management style. I espouse using… Read More
Identifying DISC Styles on the Phone
How Will You Know a High ‘D’ by Phone? When speaking on the phone to a High ‘D’, treat her the same way as in a person-to-person contact. Think of the ABC’s: Keep it abridged, brief and concise. Then we prepare our delivery with the bottom line in mind: “The trend in your industry is toward computer-generated graphics…. Read More
Is it easy to be counted as a Genius?
What do “experts” know anyway? A number of the world’s all-time great geniuses were at first thought to be anything but gifted. Einstein, we know, left school in Germany because of poor grades in history and the language arts. The problem wasn’t Einstein, of course, but the type of learning he was forced to do,… Read More
Key to Effective Feedback
Effective communication between two people is not easy. You really have to practice to make it work. Through the effective use of feedback skills, you can create a good communications climate. The following general guidelines will help you use your feedback skills more effectively. Give and Get Definitions. The interpretation of words or phrases may… Read More
Meeting Magic or Misery
Do you approach a corporate meeting expecting just another annoying waste of time? Do you walk away from it wondering why you wasted your time? If so, you know first hand how frustrating inefficient meetings can be. Most managers spend 25-30% of their time in meetings and studies show that the average cost of a… Read More